Memorial services for Arthur Gunnarson, age 89, of Rochester, will be held 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, at the Ranfranz Funeral Home Chapel, Rochester. The Rev. Linda Helberg will officiate. Spring interment of the cremated remains will be at the cemetery in Marathon, Iowa. Friends may call one hour prior to the services at the Ranfranz Funeral Home, Rochester.

He died Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003, at the Maple Manor Nursing Home in Rochester.

He was born Feb. 6, 1913, in Holstein, Iowa, and married Verda Belle Watts in 1949.

He was raised near Webb, Iowa, and was a graduate of the public schools there. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He farmed near Hayward from 1949 until the late 1970s. In retirement he and his wife resided in Mesa, Ariz., Marathon, Iowa, Albert Lea and Rochester. They had resided in Rochester the past two years.

He was a member of the Hayward Lutheran Church in Hayward, and the VFW and American Legion.

He is survived by three sons: Loren &uot;Kent&uot; Brown and wife Margie of Wyoming, Minn., Randall Brown of Rochester, and John Gunnarson of Lakehurst, Fla.; daughter, Nancy Strayer and husband Dan of Georgetown, Texas; 11 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and a sister, Lillian Spiess and husband Kenneth of Spencer, Iowa.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Verda, on Dec. 30, 2002, a son, Russell Brown; a grandson, Tony Brown; and a brother, Verner Gunnarson.

Memorials are preferred to the Hayward Lutheran Elevator/Lift Fund.